Cunningham Calls On Kiawah Island Community Association To Return $1 Million Coronavirus Loan

Rep. Joe Cunningham (SC-01) today called on Kiawah Island Community Association to return the $1 million coronavirus loan they obtained through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Congress established the PPP as part of the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to aid small businesses in weathering this crisis and retaining their workforce.

“I am incredibly disappointed that Kiawah Island Community Association took advantage of a program that was designed to offer a lifeline to struggling small businesses. When Congress approved spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money to help small businesses and their workers survive this crisis, it wasn’t meant for giant corporations with deep pockets or wealthy community associations with millions of dollars in reserve funds.

“Every week, I talk to countless Lowcountry small business owners who desperately need relief and have not yet been able to receive it, folks like the Lowdown Oven and Bar on James Island or Church Mouse Thrift Shop on Hilton Head. We are a close-knit community here in the Lowcountry, and so when one of us suffers, we all suffer. Kiawah Island Community Association should return this loan immediately so that this relief can go where it was intended, to a struggling small business trying to keep the lights on and paychecks going to their employees.”